Supramolecular polymers articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Supramolecular polymeric materials have exhibited attractive features such as self-healing, reversibility and stimuli-responsiveness but because of the weak bonding nature of most noncovalent interactions, constructing supramolecular polymer materials with high robustness remains challenging. Here, the authors describe the construction of highly robust stimuli-responsive supramolecular polymer networks by using only a tiny amount of metallacycles as the supramolecular crosslinkers.

    • Lang He
    • , Yu Jiang
    •  & Shijun Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Assembly of block copolymers can be controlled to give varying morphologies and functionalities, but there are still aspects of the process that are not well understood. Here, the authors report convoluted self-assembly behaviours of block copolymers with discotic liquid crystalline moieties.

    • Huanzhi Yang
    • , Yunjun Luo
    •  & Xiaoyu Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Structurally coloured composite films are flexible optical materials with potential in a range of applications, but their production is impacted by long time-frames and limited materials. Here, the authors report a method for the production of large scale films by shearing supramolecular composites.

    • Miaomiao Li
    • , Bolun Peng
    •  & Jintao Zhu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Creating different pore environments within a covalent organic framework (COF) leads to useful multicompartment structure and multiple functions. Here, the authors propose a strategy to construct amphiphilic COFs with separated hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanochannels by precisely controlling the distribution of hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments in two different kinds of pores.

    • Shu-Yan Jiang
    • , Zhi-Bei Zhou
    •  & Xin Zhao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Assembly is an interesting strategy to build chiral hierarchies with premade properties and functionalities. Here, the authors present assembled chiral hydrogen-bonded organic-inorganic frameworks with dynamical chiroptical activities and employ them as powerful and recoverable platforms for enantioselective recognition of chiral aliphatic substrates.

    • Jun Guo
    • , Yulong Duan
    •  & Yi Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Developing eco-friendly chiral organocatalysts with the combined advantages of homogeneous catalysis and heterogeneous processes is challenging. Here, the authors present, a family of amphiphilic one handed helical polyisocyanides bearing phosphine pendants which self-assembled into well-defined chiral micelles in water and show thermo-responsiveness

    • Lei Xu
    • , Li Zhou
    •  & Zong-Quan Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Enriching the toolbox of polymers, the design and construction of novel polymers with desired properties and functions remains an attractive topic in polymer chemistry. Here the authors demonstrate rotaxane-branched dendronized polymers with rotaxane-branched dendrons attached onto the polymer chains as polymers with attractive dynamic properties.

    • Yu Zhu
    • , Hanqiu Jiang
    •  & Hai-Bo Yang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Self-assembly in the formation of two dimensional materials typically relies upon strong, directional interactions instead of covalent bonds but control over less directional forces remains challenging. Here, the authors show the process of shape-assisted self-assembly to be consistent across a range of derivatives that highlights the restriction of rotational motion.

    • Joseph F. Woods
    • , Lucía Gallego
    •  & Michel Rickhaus

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The axial helical structure of supramolecular and covalent polymers provides communication mechanisms among monomer repeating units. Here, the authors present multi-helical materials comprising five axial motifs that combine information from both metallosupramolecular and covalent helical polymers

    • Francisco Rey- Tarrío
    • , Emilio Quiñoá
    •  & Félix Freire

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chemical fuel-driven supramolecular systems have been developed showing out of-equilibrium functions such as transient gelation and oscillations but these systems suffer from undesired waste accumulation and they function only in open systems. Here, the authors we report non-equilibrium supramolecular polymerizations in a closed system, which is built by viologens and pyranine in the presence of hydrazine hydrate.

    • Xianhua Lang
    • , Yingjie Huang
    •  & Hui Zhao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photosensitizers (PS) with nano- or micro-sized pore provide a great promise in the conversion of light energy into chemical fuel but pore deformation and blocking often decreases the catalytic efficiency. Here, the authors prepare an ordered porous PSs by cross-linking hierarchical porous assemblies of hydrogen donating PSs and functionalized acceptors.

    • Yajun Fang
    • , Yuntian Yang
    •  & Zhegang Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Rapid antibiotic resistance in bacteria is putting pressure on both existing therapies as well as the development pipeline. Here, the authors present a dual-acting anti-virulence treatment that evades antibiotic resistance mechanisms and remains effective against Top Priority pathogens.

    • Christopher Jonkergouw
    • , Ngong Kodiah Beyeh
    •  & Markus B. Linder

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electroadhesion in soft robotics provides controllable interfacial attraction for robotic functionalities but materials selection is limited. Here, Gao et. al. present an iontronic adhesive to design a soft iontronic gripper with self-healability, tunable adhesion at reduced voltages and rapid release.

    • Dace Gao
    • , Gurunathan Thangavel
    •  & Pooi See Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Synthetic hydrogels composed of covalent polymers and supramolecular fibers have been investigated for controlled delivery of biopharmaceuticals, but characterisation of the structures and properties can be challenging. Here, the authors report an imaging study for the composite network, categorizing into four distinct patterns controlled by network formation kinetics and interactions between

    • Keisuke Nakamura
    • , Ryou Kubota
    •  & Itaru Hamachi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Crowding effects have long been established as powerful guiding forces in natural assembly processes. Here the authors report a bioinspired approach translating this phenomenon to artificial supramolecular polymers.

    • Nils Bäumer
    • , Eduardo Castellanos
    •  & Gustavo Fernández

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Synthetic framework materials are appealing candidates for the fabrication of separation membranes but realizing precise control of aperture distribution and separation threshold remains challenging. Here, the authors show a two-dimensional processible supramolecular framework which can be used in the fabrication of separation membranes by integrating directional organic host-guest motifs and inorganic functional polyanionic clusters.

    • Guohua Zhang
    • , Xinyue Li
    •  & Lixin Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Synthetic supramolecular double-stranded helical systems that can undergo reversible unwinding are rare. Here, the authors report bis(indole)-based double helix systems that unwind in the presence of chloride, forming supramolecular ion channels; Addition of silver enables the regeneration of the double helix.

    • Debashis Mondal
    • , Manzoor Ahmad
    •  & Pinaki Talukdar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tumour hypoxia is a major issue for conventional photodynamic therapies, Here, the authors report on the supramolecular assembly of electron acceptors with photosensitizers which have improved reactive oxygen species production and are able to directly oxidise NHDH and demonstrate application against hypoxic tumours.

    • Kun-Xu Teng
    • , Li-Ya Niu
    •  & Qing-Zheng Yang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacterial cells utilize cholesterol-enhanced pore formation to specifically target eukaryotic cells. Here, the authors present a class of bio-inspired, cholesterol-enhanced nanopores which display anticancer activities in vitro.

    • Jie Shen
    • , Yongting Gu
    •  & Huaqiang Zeng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stretchable ionic conductors are attractive candidates for flexible ionotronics but combining high conductivity with excellent mechanical properties is challenging. Herein, the authors combine these properties in a dynamic supramolecular ionic conductive elastomer enabling lithium-ion transport in the soft phase and dynamic disulfide and supramolecular hydrogen bonding in the hard segments.

    • Jing Chen
    • , Yiyang Gao
    •  & Shujiang Ding

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Self-assembly and molecular recognition usually depend on strong, directional non-covalent interactions but also topography can play a role in the formation of supramolecular constructs which makes it nearly impossible to discern the potential of shape and motion in the creation of complexity. Here, the authors demonstrate that long-range order in supramolecular constructs can be assisted by the topography of the individual units even in the absence of highly directional interactions.

    • Joseph F. Woods
    • , Lucía Gallego
    •  & Michel Rickhaus

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sequential energy transfer is ubiquitous in natural light harvesting systems, but most artificial mimics have unsatisfactory energy transfer efficiency. Here, authors synthesize a sequential energy transfer system with overall efficiency of 87.4% via supramolecular copolymerization mimicking the aggregation mode of bacteriochlorophyll pigments in green photosynthetic bacteria.

    • Yifei Han
    • , Xiaolong Zhang
    •  & Feng Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Precise control of the microstructure of nanomaterials is of interest but living lateral growth of cylinders is still very challenging. Here, the authors propose a crystallization-driven fusion-induced particle assembly strategy to prepare cylinders with growing diameters by controlled fusion of spherical micelles self-assembled from an amphiphilic homopolymer.

    • Hui Sun
    • , Shuai Chen
    •  & Jianzhong Du

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The dynamic structure of supramolecular polymers is challenging to determine both in experiments and in simulations. Here the authors use coarse-grained molecular models to provide a comprehensive analysis of the molecular communication in these complex molecular systems.

    • Martina Crippa
    • , Claudio Perego
    •  & Giovanni M. Pavan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Constructing cross-linked networks with different topologies is attractive but challenging. Here the authors present mechanically interlocked networks cross-linked by a molecular necklace whose peculiar architectural and dynamic features endow the materials with robust yet mechanically adaptive properties.

    • Zhaoming Zhang
    • , Jun Zhao
    •  & Xuzhou Yan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fabrication of perovskite-polymer composites that simultaneously possesses strong mechanical strength, high stretchability, high stability towards harsh aqueous environments and self-healing properties is challenging. Here, the authors report a luminescent composite that is simultaneously transparent, tough and can autonomously self-heal in both dry and wet conditions.

    • Yuncong Liu
    • , Tao Chen
    •  & Chao Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Permselectivity of cellular membranes is crucial to normal cellular function but this has been hard to replicate in artificial cells. Here, the authors use pH-responsive polymersomes containing Schiff base moieties which can be used to control mesh size allowing for selective permeability control creating responsive systems.

    • Guhuan Liu
    • , Jiajia Tan
    •  & Shiyong Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Reversible assembly of supramolecular polymers renders these materials with healing and recycling properties but mechanical properties are often inferior to those of conventional plastics. Here, the authors demonstrate that strong and tough but healable materials can be accessed through the combination of metallosupramolecular polymers with complementary mechanical properties that feature the same metal-ligand complex as binding motif

    • Julien Sautaux
    • , Franziska Marx
    •  & Stephen Schrettl

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlling multicomponent systems is difficult due to convoluted behavior, pathway complexity, and coupled equilibria. Here the authors showed modulation of aggregate morphology in a zinc porphyrin-based supramolecular system via judicious capping with a manganese porphyrin monomer, in which the monomer’s chirality can influence the supramolecular behavior.

    • Elisabeth Weyandt
    • , Luigi Leanza
    •  & E. W. Meijer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    One-dimensional (1D) supramolecular polymers are commonly found in natural and synthetic systems but very little is currently known about the physico-chemical consequences and functional role of 1D supramolecular polymerisation confined in aqueous compartments. Here, the authors describe the different phenomena that resulted from the chemically triggered supramolecular fibrillation of synthetic peptide amphiphiles inside water microdroplets.

    • Richard Booth
    • , Ignacio Insua
    •  & Javier Montenegro

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Despite their great utility in synthetic and materials chemistry, Diels-Alder and retro Diels-Alder reactions have been vastly unexplored in promoting self-assembly processes. Here the authors show the release of steric bulkiness associated with a bridged bicyclic Diels Alder adduct by the retro Diels-Alder reaction that allowed generation of two building blocks that spontaneously self-assembled to form a supramolecular polymer.

    • Jaeyoung Park
    • , Jung-Moo Heo
    •  & Jong-Man Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Living supramolecular polymerization can produce precise covalent polymers, but the scope of monomers is still narrow. Here the authors show a molecular platform for living supramolecular polymerization that is based on the unique structure of all-cis 1,2,3,4,5,6- 22 hexafluorocyclohexane, the most polar aliphatic compound reported to date.

    • Oleksandr Shyshov
    • , Shyamkumar Vadakket Haridas
    •  & Max von Delius

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Investigating biomembrane curvature formation is important for studying intracellular processes, but the instability of liposome models mimicking these membranes restricts exploration of membrane processes. Here, the authors demonstrate control over the curvature formation in polymersome membranes by insertion of PNIPAm as stimuli responsive polymer.

    • Jiawei Sun
    • , Sjoerd J. Rijpkema
    •  & Daniela A. Wilson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photoluminescence printing is a widely applied anticounterfeiting technique but there are still challenges in developing new generation anticounterfeiting materials providing a high security level. Here, the authors demonstrate coordination dependent photochromic luminescence in a supramolecular coordination polyelectrolyte for multiple information authentication.

    • Zhiqiang Li
    • , Xiao Liu
    •  & Yanli Zhao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Physical networks typically employ enthalpy-dominated crosslinking interactions that become more dynamic at elevated temperatures. Here, the authors report an entropy-driven physical network based on polymer-nanoparticle interactions that exhibits mechanical properties that are invariant with temperature.

    • Anthony C. Yu
    • , Huada Lian
    •  & Eric A. Appel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Different to exploring molecular topology, the development of supramolecular topology has been limited due to a lack of reliable synthetic methods. Here, the authors describe a supramolecular strategy to access Möbius strips through bending and cyclization of twisted nanofibers self-assembled from chiral glutamate amphiphiles.

    • Guanghui Ouyang
    • , Lukang Ji
    •  & Minghua Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Homo- and heterochiral aggregation is a process of interest to prebiotic and chiral separation chemistry. Here, the authors analyze the self-assembly of a racemic mixture into 1D supramolecular polymers and find homochiral aggregation into conglomerates under kinetic control, while under thermodynamic control a racemic polymer is formed.

    • Marius Wehner
    • , Merle Insa Silja Röhr
    •  & Frank Würthner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Regulation of self-sorted nanofiber network patterns in double network hydrogels comprising supramolecular nanofibers is considered as key for potential applications. Here, the authors describe a selective construction of two distinct self-sorting network patterns, by controlling the kinetics of seed formation with dynamic covalent chemistry.

    • Ryou Kubota
    • , Kazutoshi Nagao
    •  & Itaru Hamachi

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